The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports that the lead law has finally been fixed. On August 1, 2011, H.R. 2715 was introduced by U.S. Reps. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), chair of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), ranking member of the same subcommittee. The bill would exempt kids’ off-highway vehicles (OHVs) from the lead law that will effectively ban the machines at the end of the year.

The House of Representatives is expected to consider H.R. 2715 either today or tomorrow. Your support is critical. Please take action immediately to urge your Representative to vote yes on H.R. 2715.

As you may know, a similar bill, S. 1448, is under consideration by the U.S. Senate.

Both bills would provide the categorical exemption of youth OHVs as included in H.R. 412, the Kids Just Want to Ride Act, which was introduced January 25 by Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT). The riding community’s overwhelming support of H.R. 412 has helped contribute to the fast-tracking of these new bills.

H.R. 2715 would exempt youth OHVs from the lead-content provisions of the Consumer product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008, otherwise known as the “lead law.” Those provisions contain overly restrictive lead-content limits that have practically destroyed the sale of youth OHVs and severely hampered youth motorized recreation.

The AMA and All-Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA) applaud Reps. Bono Mack and Butterfield for introducing this bill and ask that you and anyone you know who cares about the future of kids motorized recreation call your Representative today to urge a ‘Yes’ vote for H.R. 2715.

Click here and enter your zip code for some talking points and the phone number for your Representative’s office.

The CPSIA bans the making, importing, distributing or selling of any product intended for children 12 and under that contains more than a specified amount of lead in any accessible part. It also requires that all children’s products undergo periodic testing by independent laboratories approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is responsible for implementing the law.

The CPSC has delayed enforcing key portions of the law until after the end of the year. Unless the CPSIA is changed, the sale of youth-model motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles that do not conform to the CPSIA will be officially banned beginning in 2012.

Click here to call your Representative today and urge a ‘Yes’ vote for H.R. 2715. A prewritten e-mail is also available for you to send to your Representative by choosing the “Take Action” option and entering your information.

For more information on the CPSIA and everything the AMA has done on behalf of youth motorized recreation, please click here.